A Modern Day Street Machine 1967 Nova from Ron Jones Garage
As the parts manager at Ron Jones Garage, Jim Meyer has seen a lot of project cars and trucks transcend from “just make it a reliable driver” to more of a “one-off, custom, top-tier build.” Little did he believe that his next project, a ’67 Nova, was going to follow that path!
When Jim started on his Nova, he knew it was going to be powered by a supercharged LS. He knew it was going to ride on a Roadster Shop chassis and have modern interior. But he didn’t realize that it was going to undergo a complete transformation that would land him in the Top Five of Goodguys Street Machine of the Year.
As planned, Jim ordered himself a FastTrack chassis, giving the original unibody Nova a solid foundation to handle the extra power from the Whipple-supercharged LS3. A set of stainless steel headers from Ultimate Headers expel fumes into a custom 3-inch exhaust with MagnaFlow mufflers, while an AFCO custom radiator keeps things cool.
Things really started to roll once the Ron Jones crew got to work on the body. The rear wheel wells ended up being stretched 3-inches with a rear spoiler positioned on the deck lid just above the custom designed trim panel. The rear bumper was modified to form around the exhaust and a lower belly pan rounds out the hind end.
Up front, a new bumper was formed and inset with a custom diffuser below and a one-off grille mounted above. The cowl hood leads to a flush-mounted windshield and back glass from Fesler USA, which are complemented with deleted wing windows. The custom work flowed under the hood with hand formed panels surrounding the detailed powerplant and covered in a custom shade of Spies Hecker paint applied by Ron Jones.
As Jim planned, the interior was upgraded with power seats wrapped in Relicate leather, but like the rest of the build, the plan escalated. The gauge cluster was moved forward to accommodate an InVision flat screen from AutoMeter that is easy to view through the Billet Specialties wheel mounted to an Ididit column. A custom console was formed to fit the parking brake, shifter, Vintage Air controls and switches. JJ’s Upholstery stitched the interior, door panels and square weave carpet.
The project may have grown beyond Jim’s original plan, but he couldn’t be happier with the results and is proud to work with the crew that brought his Nova project across the finish line, Ron Jones Garage.
Photos by John Jackson, Todd Ryden, Terry Lysak
